Abstract
Previous research has not fully examined how team identification relates to the perceived incentive value of team-related stimuli and variables that influence fans’ choices to consume those stimuli. The perceived value of such stimuli is often inferred from questionnaires or measured in naturalistic studies. Unfortunately, responses via questionnaires are sometimes far removed from the actual behaviors of interest, and naturalistic studies lack a degree of experimental control (e.g., the researcher cannot manipulate wins and losses). In the present study, we examine the extent to which Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants fans would celebrate or distance themselves from the team after viewing short videos of the Giants winning or losing. As a control condition, participants also viewed a video of a neutral sporting event. After watching each video, participants had the opportunity to choose to view Giants- or general sports-related stimuli (i.e., celebrating or distancing, respectively). We measured participants’ degree of team identification with the Giants, and participants were categorized as either highly or moderately identified. We also measured fans’ affective responses after each video (pleasure, arousal, dominance). Using a two-factor mixed design, we found that highly identified fans chose to view Giants-related stimuli more often than did moderately identified fans, regardless of the video presented. Compared to the losing video, the winning video increased fans’ choices to view Giants-related stimuli, regardless of their level of identification. Both fan groups reported increased pleasure, arousal, and dominance after watching the winning video compared to the losing or neutral video.
Presenters
Sean PradhanAssociate Professor of Sports Management and Business Analytics, School of Business, Menlo College, California, United States Patrick Cravalho
Lecturer, Psychology, San Jose State University, California, United States Susan Snycerski
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, San Jose State University Sean Laraway
Professor, San Jose State University
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
Sports Management and Commercialization
KEYWORDS
Fan Behavior, Motivating Operations, Sports Consumption, Team Identification
